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IX EXPLANATION 



OF THE 



APOCALYPSE, 



OR 



REVELATION OF ST JOHN. 



BY ALEXANDER SMYTH. 



WASHINGTON* CITY: 

WAY 8c GIDEON, 

Printers. 

1825, 



* Of u 



♦ 




OKTRICT OF COLUMBIA, to wit: 
therein mentioned," and also to the ' ct tSS^^Z 

10 r act - entitled ' An «£3ELo££ 

mentot learning, by securing the copies of mips ciart, 
and books to the authors and proprietor; of such coS 
during the times therein mentioned/and extendTn* the b e - 

A te&^tohewfc I have hereunto set my hand 
(L. S.) and affixed the public seal of my office, "he dar 
and year aforesaid. ' - 

Clerk of the District Court for the^strict of" Columbia 



THE APOCALYPSE. 



The important question respecting 
the book of The Revelation of St. John 
the divine, is, whether is it a propheti- 
cal vision of future events, or an artful 
enigmatical relation of past events, under 
the form of prophecy. 

Let us first examine, by what early 
writers of the church this book has been 
quoted or referred to. The learned 
Lardner says, " It is very probable that 
Hermas had read the book of St. John's 
Revelation, and imitated it ; he has many 
things resembling it." This conclusion 
is drawn from the resemblance alone; 
from which I draw one entirely dif- 
ferent. Hermas wrote after all the apos- 
tles were dead, and probably about the 



year 1CU Inste ad of the splendid city 
the new Jerusalem, he has a great square 
tower, built with bright square stones, 
which are the saints. The work of Her- 
mas is persuasive evidence that the 
Apocalypse was not written before his 
time; for although there is, in some par- 
ticulars, a resemblance, yet the machi- 
nery of Hermas is so far inferior to that 
of the Apocalypse, that we must believe 
that the work of Hermas was first writ- 
ten; as in architecture the hut preceded 
the palace. A man of fertile imagina- 
tion, with the visions of Hermas before 
him, might produce the Apocalypse; 
but it is not probable, that a writer with 
the Apocalypse before him, and imi- 
tating it, should produce such a work as 
the pastor of Hermas. 

Doctor Lardner says, « I think it also 
highly probable that Papias had read 



5 



the book of Revelation." There is no 
evidence making this probable. Papias 
was bishop of Hierapolis in Asia from 
110 to 116 A. C, and introduced the 
opinion of the Millenarians;(a) he wrote 
a work entitled " An explication of the 
oracles of the Lord;" but he has left 
nothing to show that he ever saw the 
Apocalypse. 

Justin Martyr, who composed an 
apology for the Christians, and suffered 
death about the year 167, says, " And a 
man among us by name John, one of the 
apostles of Christ, in the revelation made 
to him, has prophesied the believers in 
our Christ shall live a thousand years in 
Jerusalem; and after that shall be the 
general, and in a word, the eternal re- 
surrection, and judgment of all men to- 

a Lardner. 

1* 



6 

gether." This indeed resembles that 
passage in the Apocalypse which savs 
that, the martyrs lived and reigned wiih 
Christ a thousand years, and that the rest 
of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished. Justin 
may have seen some of the Apocalypses 
from which that which we now have 
was in part compiled ; but I cannot agree 
that he ever saw the Apocalypse, in the 
form in which it mow appears. 

Polycarp, who suffered death about 
the year 166, in his works, quotes and 
refers to Matthew, Luke, The Acts, and 
ten of the Epistles; but he never men- 
tions The Revelation. He wrote on the 
resurrection, and the last judgment; and 
he uses this expression, "Do we not 
know that the saints shall judge the 
world, as Paul teaches V\b) If Polycarp 
b l Col. 6. 2. 



had known such a book as The Revela- 
tion of St. John the divine, and con- 
sidered it as the work of John the apos- 
tle, he would, most assuredly, have quot- 
ed it when writing on such subjects ; and 
had the work existed in his time, it must 
have been known to him ; as he was for 
many years bishop of Smyrna, one of 
the seven churches. 

Mareion, 144, received ten of the 
epistles of Paul ; but he never mentioned 
the Apocalypse. Tatian, 172, received 
the gospels, and several of Paul's epis- 
tles ; but he never mentioned the Apo- 
calypse. Theodotus of Byzantium, 187, 
mentioned the books of John, Matthew, 
Luke, The Acts, and the epistles to 
Timothy, the Romans, the Galatians, 
and the Corinthians ; but he said nothing 
of the Apocalypse, 



Mhe„ xgms 0[ A 

;:: ,77oi ' ,8o ----a P „, gv : 

*eCh„ st , ails „ )eaksof J *■ - 

ofte r e surrectionoft)ie(1 

* oik was known to hi m . 

The Apoea] V p se is not mentioned in 

t-T gs of Theophi,us 

Theopndus in a book a g ai„ st Her . 
-genes, brought proof from the r _ 

?*W but El -°ius * a writer of 

doubtful credit- and A- 

hearsay 23 Sported 

t0ry - »y» that the evil d* 

mon does not cease t« 

^ease to accuse; "this 
daemon is also calWl *h i 

caJ,ed the dragon." This 



9 

may have furnished a hint to the writer 
of the Apocalypse. 

Ireneus, bishop of Lyons in Gaul, who 
is supposed to have died in 202 r speaks 
of the Apocalypse, and says, " It was 
seen no long time ago, but almost in our 
age, at the end of the reign of Domitian." 
In the fragments left by him, which are 
only found extant in a barbarous latin 
version, is this passage " As also John 
in the Revelation says, The incense is 
the prayers of the saints. "(c) 

It is said that Praxeas, from 194 to 
207, argued from the Revelation, first 
chapter and eighth verse, " I am Alpha 
^nd Omega, &c." 

Caius, a presbyter of Rome, from 210 
to 217, as we are told by Eusebius, 

* Lardner doubts whether this passage be 
genuine, 
c Rev. 8. 5. 



10 



«enh US; .. AndCerintl 
VteReve ( a« ionS)asif 

' f j - a P«'^».pose S up„„ usmon 5 strom 
-lat 1 o„ s „f t „ inssofhis()wn . nveiit 

after " ,eresu "«i»», there shall be a 
tOTeStria ' ki "«"»» f Chris, and that 
again in Jerusaletn, sub . 

jeet (o sensnal desires and pleasures;.* 

»u ne says there m be ( 

ye™ spent in „ uptial entertainment." 

that Cains had read the book 

«t1heKevelatio„,a„deo„sideredita 
forgery by Cerinthus. 

Clement of Alexandria, ,92 , 217 
refers to the passage which eonstitntes' 
^twe„ty. fatverseofthetiven 

*pter of tl le Revelation, as the words 

of * na P«k;a„dhe writes thus; "Such 
'•«. <hongh here upon earth he be no, 
honoured with ,he firs, seat, J 



11 



upon the foui* and twenty thrones, judg- 
ing the people, as John says in the Reve- 
lation." Although this is no correct 
quotation, it shews that the Apocalypse 
was known to Clement. 

Tertulian, 195 to 220, says, " John in 
his Apocalypse is commanded to correct 
those who eat things sacrificed to Idols, 
and commit fornication. n {d) Again he 
says, " The apostle John in the Apoca- 
lypse, describes a sharp two edged 
sword, coming out of the mouth of 
God."(e) 

Dionysius of Alexandria, 230 to 265 5 . 
has criticised the Apocalypse. He con- 
tends that the manner, style, structure, 
sentiments, diction, and construction, 
plainly distinguish this work from the 
writings of the apostle John, 

^Rev. 2. £0* t Rev. 1, 16. 



12 

It appears therefore, that the Apoea 
lypse was not in being in the time of 
Polycarp, 166; and that it was in being 
before the death of Ireneus in 202. This 
work condemns the sect of Nicolaitans ; 
and Nicolaus, the founder of that sect, 
was of the second century. 

The writer of the Apocalypse has ad- 
dressed the churches of Pergamos, Thy- 
atira,* Sardis, Philadelphia, Smyrna, 
Ephesus, and Laodicea; all those cities 
were situated in Asia minor, in a space 
not more extensive than eighty miles 
from north to south by one hundred and 
eighty miles from east to west;f he does 
not address any church in Europe, Af- 

* It is admitted by Epiphanius and Grotius, 
that there was no Christian church atThyatira 
in the time of St. John. 

t These cities were all situated in a tractof 
country, a little larger than New-Jersey. 



13 

rica, Palestine, or Syria. The writer 
had probably dwelt in Asia minor, and 
perhaps in one of those cities in which 
were the seven churches addressed. 

If, with some of the fathers, we sup- 
pose this book not to be genuine,* we 
may look for the author about the time 
when the work first appeared ; and for 
the events pretended to have been fore- 
told, in the history of the preceding 
age. 

The contents of the historical part of 
the Apocalypse, may be stated thus: 

Chap. 6. The reign of Commodus, 
mid his death. 

Chap. 8. Heresies in the time of 
Commodus. 

Chap, 9. The same subject continued. 

*It was rejected by the council of Laodi 
kea in .363. 



14 

Chap. 11. The fall of Pertinax and 
Didius. 

Chap. 12. Septimius Severus, his 
ivife, and eldest son. 

Chap. 13. Albinus, his statues, me* 
dais, and coins. 

Chap. 14. Caracalla, the army of 
Severus, and the punishment of the 
prxtorian guards. 

Chap. 16. Civil war between Seve- 
rus and Niger. 

Chap. 17. The city of Byzantium, 
and the emperor Niger. 

Chap. 18. Byzantium taken and de- 
stroyed. 

Chap. 19. Caracalla, and the defeat 
of Albinus at Lyons. 

I will now proceed to give a more 
particular explanation of this book. 

Chap. 2. The writer speaks of the 
synagogue of satan at Smyrna, and of 



15 



satan's throne at Pergamos. At those 
two cities were the principal temples of 
^sculapius, which God was supposed 
to appear in the form of a serpent. 

kC Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, 
which calleth herself a prophetess, to 
teach, and to seduce my servants to 
commit fornication, and to eat things 
offered to idols." Perhaps this is Maxi- 
inilla,* one of the prophetesses of Mon° 
tanus, who in 171, commenced the pro- 
pagation of his heresy in Phrygia, ad- 
jacent to Thyatira.f Maximilla is said 
to have lived until the year 218. 

* Pope Victor gave to Prisca and Maximil- 
la, a letter of peace to the churches of Asia ? 
which he afterwards revoked. 

tOr it may be Philumene, the inspired vir- 
gin, who was the companion of Appelles, 188, 
whose place of residence I have not found men- 
tioned in church history. 



16 

' Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
will give thee a crown of life." I pre- 
sume that Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, 
who suffered death about the year 166, 
is the angel to whom this is addressed. 

Chap. 3. Melito, bishop of Sardis, is 
the angel of that church. He is said to 
have been a eunuch; and there seems 
to be an allusion to his emasculation. 
" Thou hast a few names even in Sardis 
who have not defiled their garments ; 
and they shall walk with me in white; 
for they are worthy. He that over- 
cometh, the same will I clothe in white 
raiment ; and I will not blot out his name 
from the book of life."* 

Chap. 6. " And I saw, and behold a 
white horse ; and he that sat on him 
had a bow." This is Commodus,t who 

• Compare with Isaiah, 55. 4, 5. 
tCommodus, whose character is known to 



17 



took great delight in shooting with a 
bow, and gave astonishing proofs of his 
dexterity and skill ; he would shoot off 
the head of an ostrich when running at 
its utmost speed ; and he would kill a 
panther that had seized a man, before it 
had time to hurt him. He erected 
statues to himself through all the city of 
Rome ; and one of them, which stood 
opposite to the senate house, held a bent 
bow. 

" And he went forth conquering and 
to conquer. " Commodus fought as a 
gladiator seven hundred and thirty-five 
times, and used to subscribe himself, 

the reader of history, is the first emperor that 
a christian writer of the second century would 
mount on a white horse; his favorite concu- 
bine Marcia, (who was little less than era- 
press,) was a Christian ; and, by her influ- 
ence, protected the Christians; 

2* 



IS 

;t The conqueror of a thousand gladia- 
tors." 

" Another horse red; and it was 
given to him who sat thereon to take 
peace from the land, and that men might 
kill one another ; and there was given 
to him a great sword." This is Mater- 
nus, a deserter, who in 187, collected 
the Lands of deserters and robbers into 
a little army, set open the prisons, in- 
vited the slaves to assert their freedom, 
plundered many cities of Spain and 
- Gaul, and was near effecting a design 
formed by him, to murder Commodus. 
and usurp the throne* 

V A black horse, and he that sat on 
him had a pair of balances in his hand.** 
A quart of wheat for a bit."* This is 

* The xhcznkx contained near three half 
pints; the denarius was equal to seven pence 
♦ and three farthings sterling; it was the price 



if 

Oleander, a freed man of Commodus 5 
who governed him, and amassed im- 
mense wealth. By a monopoly of corn, 
he produced a famine in 188, which oc- 
casioned an insurrection of the people, 
which was appeased with his head. 

" A pale horse, and his name that sat 
en him was death, and the grave fol- 
lowed with him ; and power was given 
him to slay, on the fourth part of the 
earth, with sword, and with famine, and 
with pestilence, and with the wild 
beasts of the earth. 55 A plague broke 
out at Rome in 187, and continued until 
191. It was so fatal in 189, that two 
thousand citizens of Rome died daily. 
What is said of wild beasts, may allude 
to a game law of Commodus, which pro- 
of a day-labour; so that a bushel of wheat 
must have cost the price of more ;than iV:* 
ciayg labour 



20 

vided that no one should kill a lion 5 
even in his own defence. In conse- 
quence thereof, the African lions in- 
fested the villages and cultivated lands, 
preying on mankind with impunity. 

" And I beheld when he opened the 
sixth seal, and lo, there was a great 
earthquake; and the sun became black 
as sackcloth of hair, and the moon be- 
came like blood." An earthquake is a 
revolution, civil war, or other great 
commotion. The sun black like sack- 
cloth, is Commodiis murdered ; and the 
moon like blood, is Marcia, who caused 
him to be murdered. 

" The stars of Heaven fell unto the 
earth even as a fig-tree casteth its un- 
timely figs, when it is shaken by a 
mighty wind." Pertinax, who suc- 
ceeded to the empire, sold the slaves of 
Commodus, among whom were three 



21 



hundred beautiful women, and as many 
boys. 

" And the heaven departed as a scroll 
when it is rolled together.' 5 Pertinax 
sold all the apparatus of luxury of his 
predecessor; the statues, pictures, rich 
furniture of the palace, gold and silver 
plate, horses and carriages* The vile 
ministers of the pleasures of Commodus 
were sought out, condemned, and their 
estates forfeited; some of which ex- 
ceeded the estates of the richest sena- 
tors. 

Chap. 8. " A great mountain, burn- 
ing with fire, was cast into the sea." I 
suppose that the seven trumpets relate to 
the church. The great mountain is, I 
presume, Montanus, who propagated 
his heresy in 171, for the suppression 
of which, the council of Hierapolis was 
held in 173, without effect. 



22 

" There fell a great star from Hea- 
ven, burning as it were a lamp,** and 
the name of the star is called, Worm- 
wood." This blazing star may be Ta- 
tian,* a disciple of Justin Martyr, and 
one of the most learned men of his age. 
He is called a^^, which may signify 
without pleasure, or without drinking, 
from his doctrines, which were of the 
most austere kind. 

The fourth trump, on the sounding 
of which, the third'part of the sun, moon, 
stars, day and night, were darkened, 
may signify the excommunication by 
pope Victor, of the churches of Asia, 
on. occasion of the controversy re- 

* Possjbly this star may be Theodotus the 
tanner of Byzantium, who was excommuni- 
cated by pope Victor. Theodotus is said by 
Eusebius, to have been the first who main- 
tained the Arian opinions. 



23 



specting the proper time of keeping 
Easter. 

Chap. 9. " I saw a star fallen* from 
Heaven unto the earth, and to him was 
given the key of the pit of hell," ^ 
*n aj3vr<r v. This star who had fallen 
from Heaven, is Tatian. He first pro- 
pagated his doctrines in 172, and is said 
to have been the founder of the sect of 
Encratites. The locusts are the Encra- 
tites, who rejected wine even in the 
ceremony of the eucharist, abstained 
from marriage, professed continence, 
rejected all the comforts and convenien- 
cies of life, and macerated their bodies 
by fasting. That sect took its name 
from Eyx P «7e 5 , continent, or temperate, 
which sounds something like A*fihn lo- 
custs. 

% I here follow the translation of Thompson 



24 

The sixth trumpet may relate to the 
Ophites, or Serpentinians, a sect sprung 
from the Gnostics, whose leader was 
one Euphrates, who flourished in the 
latter end of the second century.* 

Chap. 11. The two martyrs are, 
Laetus the praetorian prefect, and Mar- 
eia the Christian concubine of Commo- 
dus, who were the chief authors of 
his death, and were murdered by order 
of the emperor Didius, a few days be- 
fore he himself suffered the same fate. 
The Lordf of the earth, before whom 
those martyrs stand, is Commodus. 

* The four angels bound in Euphrates, maj 
be Appelles, Potitus, Basilicus, and Cjneros, 
leaders in 190, of the Marcionites. 

t Mill refers to thirteen ancient copies, 
wherein we read Kvpm Lord, and not ®e 6 v 
God, as in our copy; to wit, Alexandrian, 
Stephens *, te, Baroc. Petav. 2. Covel. 2, 



25 

"If any man will hurt them, he must 
in this manner be killed." Commodus 
had determined to put Lastus and Mar- 
cia to death; but they anticipated him ; 
and Didius, who put them to death, was 
soon afterwards slain. 

"And a tenth of the city fell." I 
am doubtful whether this can signify 
the death of Pertinax, who, being go- 
vernor of the city of Rome, was made 
emperor on the death of Commodus. 
and, after an excellent reign of eighty- 
seven days, was murdered by the prae- 
torian guards. In his name we find the 
Roman numerals I, and X; one, ten; it 

3inah. Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, Yictorine, 
Hippolytus, and Arethas. The edition pub- 
lished by Roberts in 1729, with a liberal trans- 
lation, reads Kvpiov The passage in Zecha- 
riah, from which this expression is borrowed, 
reads, in the Septusgint, Kvptov. 
i 3 



26 



is to be recollected that we are examin- 
ing an enigma. 

" And in the earthquake were slain 
names of men seven thousand." Here 
we have another revolution. The writer 
seems to have regarded the death of 
Didius as only an incident of the revolu- 
tion occasioned by the death of Pertinax. 
In the name of Didius, we find the Ro- 
man numerals VII, and DD; that is, 
seven, a thousand. The time is come 
" to destroy (or despoil) those who de- 
stroy (or corrupt) the earth." This 
threatens the praetorian* guards. 

Chap. 12. " A woman clothed with, 
the sun, and the moon under her feet, 
and upon her head a crown of twelve 
stars." This is Julia Domna, daughter of 
the priest of the sun at Emessa in Syria, 
whom Septimius Severus married, be- 



27 

/cause the astrologers affirmed that tbt; 
stars had promised her a crown. 

■" A great red dragon, having seven 
heads and ten horns, and seven crowns 
upon his heads." This is Septimius 
Severus. 

" And she brought forth a man child, 
who was to rule all nations with a rod 
of iron." This is Caracalla. 

" And her child was caught up to 
God and his throne." History informs 
us, that Evodus, a freed man of Seve* 
tus,* having been charged with the 

* vSeverus was at first favorable to the 
Christians; and is said to have allowed ail 
apartment in the palace to Proculus Torpa- 
cio, a Christian physician, who had cured him 
of a disease by anointing him with oil. Seve- 
rus is therefore represented as cast out of 
^Heaven, while two of his opponents ascend 
from hell, and one (Albinus) from the sea, be- 
tdUise.he happened to be in Britain. 



28 

education of Caracalla, gave him a Chris 
tian woman for his nurse. 

" He persecuted the woman that 
brought forth the male child." Seve- 
rus was jealous of his wife Julia; in con- 
sequence of which, she, either from a 
consciousness of guilt, or from a desire 
of safety, withdrew from public affairs, 
and occupied her time with literary 
pursuits. She is therefore said to be 
.nourished " from the face of the ser- 
pent."* 

u And the dragon was wroth with the 
woman, and went to make war with the 
remnant of her seed, who keep the com- 
mandments of God, and have the testi- 
mony of Jesus." Severus made war 
against Syria in 194, for supporting 

*The serpent, to whom the ancients ascrib- 
ed great subtlety, was a fit emblem of tfca 
crafty, false, and cruel Severus* 



29 

1>Tiger ; he also made a war, of little im- 
portance, agdinst the Jews in 198, on 
account of their attachment to Niger; 
■and in 201, he forbade, under severe 
penalties, any one to join the Jews or 
Christians. 

Chap. 13. 46 1 saw a wild beast rise 
up out of the sea, having seven heads 
aqd ten horns, and upon his horns, ten 
crowns." This is Albinos, one of those 
who contended with Severus for the 
Roman empire. He is described.as be 
inglike a leopard; this indicates a va- 
riegated character; and such was that 
of Albinus, of whom it is said that, not- 
withstanding his many vices, he was -a 
man of great courage and skill in mili- 
tary affairs, and commonly called a se= 
cond Cataline, The feet of a bear, in- 
dicate a rude -and brutal character; and 
it is saifi of Albmus, that he was stern. 



30 

reserved, morose, and rigid to cruelty. 
The mouth of a lion, may indicate a vo- 
racious appetite; and it is said of Albi- 
iius, that he would eat at a breakfast, 500 
•figs, 100 peaches, 10 in elons, 20 bunches 
of grapes, 100 small birds, and 400 oys- 
ters/* 

" And the dragon gave him his pow- 
der, and his throne, and great authority/' 
Albinus commanded die Roman legions 
in Britain, at the time of the death of 
Commodus, and so was in a situation to 
feavc contended with Severus for the 

* The truth of this assertion, made by Capi- 
tolinus, has been questioned; but I consider 
what is said by the writer of the Apocalypse, 
ss corroborating it. The Roman emperor 
Maximin, is said to lw/e eaten 60lbs. of flesh 
daily. We read of a Me. Mariot, the Cocmo-* 
rant, or great eater of Gray's Inn, about the 
vcar 1650, who eat Hibs. of meat daily. 



31 

empire, immediately on the death of 
Pertinax; but Severus erafcily declared 
him Caesar; and thereforeis said to have 
given him his power, and his throne, 
and great authority. 

" And I saw one of his heads as it 
were slain to death; and his deadly 
wound was healed/' A premature re* 
port of the death of Cornmodus having 
been spread in Britain, Albinus pro- 
posed to restore the republican govern- 
ment; by which Cornmodus being exas- 
perated, he sent Junius Severus to take 
command in Britain ; but that officer did 
not arrive before the death of Cornmo- 
dus was known in that country. 

" And the whole earth followed this 
beast with admiration." It is said by the 
writer of the life of Albinus, that no 
prince was ever so mucJi beloved by the 
senate as he ; the soldiers whom he com- 



32 



rmanded were much attached to Mm; 
and he was universally esteemed by the 
people of Rome. 

" And power was given him to con- 
tinue forty-two months." Albinus con- 
tinued in power, as Caesar under Seve- 
rus, from June 193, until December, 
196,* when he was declared a public 
enemy. 

" No man might buy or sell, save he 

* Caracalla was declared Caesar by the army 
of Severus, at Viminacium on the Danube, on 
the return of Severus from the east in 196, 
and Albinus was declared a public enemy at 
the same time. It was probably in December, 
as Severus is said to have marched through 
snows and frosts, as he advanced to Gaul. It 
was at the games of*the circus, a little before 
the Saturnalia, that is, about the middle of 
December, that the people of Rome manifested 
their great concern atthe preparation for an- 
other civil war. 



33 



that had the mark, or the name of the 
beast, or the number of his name. 5 1 
Severus, in June 193, caused several 
medals to be struck with the name of 
Albinus, statues to be erected to him, 
and money to be coined with his image 
impressed thereon. No man could buy 
or sell without money. 

" His number is 666." The name of 
Decimus Clodius Albinus, written in 
Greek, contains this number.* 

€hap. 14. " And I looked, and lo, a 



Asa t ft i v 

4, 5, 20, 10, 40, 70, 50, 



666, 



K. A o£i 6 v 
£0, SO, 70, 4, 10, 70, 50, r 

A A j8 t f o v 
1, 30, 2, 10, 50, 70, 50, _ 

Twenty-one letters in the name of Albinus, 
give the exact number. This is the proof re- 
quired by the writer, that his enigma is solved. 
There can be no mistake. " The interpreta- 
tion is sure." 



34 

Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with 
him one hundred and forty-four thou- 
sand, having his name, and his father's 
name, written on their foreheads." This 
lamb is Caraealla, whom this writer re- 
presents as the Messiah. The one hun- 
dred and forty- four thousand, are the 
soldiers of Severus.* 

" And the wine-press was trodden 
without the city; and blood came 
out of the wine-press, even unto the 
horse-bridles, by tita spare of sixteen 
hundred furlongs." After the death of 
Pertinax, Severus marched with his 
army to Rome, artfully drew out the 
traitorous praetorian guards, who had 
murdered that excellent prince, and 
sold the empire ; he surrounded them 

* Historians say that Severus commanded 
one hundred and fifty thousand raen at the 
battle of Lyons., 



35 



with his troops; reproached them for 
their perfidy and cowardice ; dismissed 
them from the service with ignominy ? 
despoiled them of their horses, military 
dress, and ornaments; and banished 
them, on pain of death y one hundred 
miles from Rome ; that is, from a space 
sixteen hundred furlongs in diameter. 
The wine press is the praetorian camp 
without the city, out of which came the 
men and the price of blood, " even to 
the horse-bridles."* 

Chap. 16. This chapter I suppose 
to relate to the events of the war be- 
tween Severus and Niger. Armaged- 
don, pamsr, may signify, The ene^my of 
precious things, and may be Byzantium. 

" And there was a great earthquake." 

* He who wears a golden crown, and reaps 
the harvest of the earth, is CaracalJa; he who 
reaps the grapes of vengeance, is Severus. 



36 

This is the civil war between Severus 
and Niger. " And the great city was 
divided into three parts." This may 
be Rome, or the empire, divided into 
parties for Severus, Albinus, and Ni- 
ger. " And the cities of the Heathen 
fell." These are the Asiatic cities, 
severely punished by Severus for ad- 
hering to Niger. " And every island 
fled away, and the mountains were not 
found." This signifies the destruction 
of the principal men who adhered to 
Niger. Severus put to death those 
senators who served as generals and tri- 
bunes under Niger; other senators of 
his party, were banished to the islands, 
and their estates confiscated. 

" And there fell upon men great hail, 
like talent weights, out of Heaven." 
The army of Severus besieged Byzan- 
tium; the defenders of the city had 



37 

provided machines, which hurled large 
beams and stones on the besiegers, when 
they came near to the w 7 alls, and others 
which threw showers of darts and 
smaller stones, when the enemy were at 
a greater distance. 

Chap. 17. "I saw a woman sit upon 
a crimson beast, full of names of blas- 
phemy, having seven heads and ten 
horns." This beast is different from the 
lion mouthed beast of the 13th chapter; 
that beast is like a leopard, (spotted;) 
this is a crimson beast; that has, on his 
heads, a name of blasphemy ; this is full 
of names of blasphemy; that has ten 
crowns on his horns ; this has no crowns. 
This beast is Niger; and the woman 
who sits upon him, is Byzantium. We 
have heje a vision of Byzantium pre- 
vious to the death of Niger. 

" And I saw the woman drunk with 

4 



38 



the blood of the saints, and with the 
blood of the martyrs of Jesus." The 
Christians of Byzantium had been per- 
secuted during the reign of Marcus 
Aurelius. In speaking of the fall of that 
city, Cascilius Capella, who is supposed 
to have been governor of Thrace, said, 
" Christians, you have reason to re~ 
joice."(/) And so they did.(g-) 

" The seven heads are seven moun- 
tains on which the woman sitteth." 
Constantinople, as well as Rome, is built 
on seven hills. Byzantium only occu- 
pied a part of them. The ten horns, 
who are ten kings which have received 

(/) Lardner. 

(g) " Rejoice over her, O Heaven! and ye 
holy apostles and prophets; for God hath 
avenged you on her-** And again they said, 
Hallelujah! and her smoke rose up forever ai*d 
ever." 



39 



no kingdom as yet, but are about to 
take power as kings one hour with the 
beast, are probably senators exercising 
authority under Niger. 

Chap. 18. € * It is fallen! Babylon the 
great is fallen ; and has become the habi- 
tation of daemons, and the prison, <t>v\&%r„ 
of every unclean spirit, and the cage % 
bvxctm, of every unclean and odious 
bird." This is Byzantium, closely be- 
sieged by the army of Severus, after 
the fall of Niger, and therefore called 
a prison. 

" She saith in her heart, I sit a queen , 
and am no widow." Byzantium was 
then by far the greatest city of Thrace ; 
exceeding populous and wealthy ; for- 
tified with strong walls, which were de- 
fended by many towers. The expres- 
sion, " I am no widow," probably has 



40 

reference to the recent death of the 
emperor Niger. 

u Therefore shall her plagues come 
in one day, death, and mourning, and 
famine ; and she shall be utterly burnt 
with fire/ 5 The siege of Byzantium by 
the forces of Severus, is one of the most 
memorable in history, for the perse- 
verance, valor, and skill of the besieged. 
At the end of three years, famine com- 
pelled them to open their gates ; the 
magistrates and soldiers were put to the 
sword; the estates of the inhabitants 
were confiscated, and they themselves 
were sold for slaves ; the city, with its 
stately theatres, baths, and public build- 
ings, was laid in ashes; the walls were 
levelled with the ground; and thus the 
chief bulwark of the empire, against the 
northern Barbarians was destroyed. 



41 

"And every one sailing to the place* 
both mariners and traffickers by sea, 
stood afar off, and cried out when they 
saw the smoke of her burning, saying^ 
" What city was like this great city? 55 
This proves that the city mystically 
called Babylon, was a maritime city. 

" And a mighty angel took up a stone, 
like a great mill-stone, and cast it into 
the sea, saying, Thus with violence 
shall Babylon, that great city, be dashed 
down, and shall be found no more." 
Byzantium was so completely destroyed, 
that it lay in ruins many years after the 
death of Severus. The city was indeed 
" dashed down with violence;" yet the 
writer proved a false prophet. The 

* I here follow Thompson, who says that he 
followed tke Alexandrian, and other ancient 
manuscripts* 

4* 



42 



jity was " found" again, and became, in 
the reign of Constantine, the capitol of 
the Roman empire. 

The fall of the mystical Babylon, is, 
unquestionably, the destruction of 
Byzantium by the forces of Severus, in 
the year 195 ; and this event is the bea- 
con which we must keep in view, while 
searching for the other events, enigma- 
tically related in this book. 

Chap. 19. " And I saw Heaven open- 
ed, and behold, a white horse, and he 
that sat on him was called A believer 
HAcr7«s, and Sincere amm*." This is Ca- 
: acalla; and the time of this appearance 
Is, the last of the year 196, or the be- 
ginning of 197, after he was declared 
Caesar by the army on the Danube. 

" And he had a name written that no 
man knew but he himself. " This name 
of Caracalla is, Christian. Spartian 



43 



says of him> that at seven years of age, 
when he heard that a boy, his play- 
fellow, had been severely beaten, be- 
cause he was of Jewish religion, he 
would not, for some while after, look 
upon his own father, nor the father of 
the boy, nor those who had beaten Mm. 
Lardner says that, by the Jewish reli- 
gion, very probably is here meant the 
Christian. As his preceptor had pro- 
cured for him a Christian nurse, he was 
no doubt instructed in the Christian be- 
lief. 

" And his name is called the Lozcx 
of God." The writer seems to have in- 
tended to represent Caracalla as the 
Messiah, the Lamb, and the Lion of 
the trib€ of Judah.(A) 

fh) Rev. 5, 5. and chap. 1, 7. " Behold he 
eometh wi& clouds ; and every eye shall see 



44 



" And he hath on his cloak and on 
his thigh, a name written, King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords." Saint Jerom says 
that the Jewish ephod was made in the 
form of a caraealla, or monkish dress ; 
then the caracaHa was in the form of the 
J ewish ephocL, and was a monkish dress ; 
and from such a dress the son of Severus 
took the name of Caracafta.* He is 

hitfi : cum theij iriicJi pierced him: and all the 
tribes of the earth shall wail because of him." 
This is Caracalla, who had the title of com- 
mander in the trifling war against the Jews 
in 198. 

* But at what age did Caracalla assume this 
dress? In the figure of a medal of Caracalla, 
when a boy, in one of Creviers plates, we 
readM, AVR. ANT. CARACALLA C AES, 
PONT, that is, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 
Varacalla Csesar Pontifes. This aedal, if 
genuine,, mast have been struck afte* tie was 
>ie dared C^sar, in 196, and before he mm de- 



45 



therefore said to have the name of God 
inscribed on his cloak ; because it was a 
Jewish ephod, or monk's dress. The 
same name was inscribed, it is said, " on 
his thigh ;" but the thigh is sometimes 
written for another member ; fij and I 
suspect that Caracalla was circumcised.* 

dared Augustus, in 198 ; and according to its 
testimony, he was then a priest, and called 
Caracalla. 

(i) Gen. 46. 26. 

* Julia Domna, the mother of Caracalla, was 
daughter of Bassianus, priest of the God El- 
agabalus, who was represented by a pyramid- 
al stone, and was, as I apprehend, the same 
with the Molek of the Jews. We read that 
Bassianus, (grandson of Julia Maesa, the sister 
of Julia Domna), who was priest of the same 
deity, and became emperor by the name of 
Heliogabalus, abstained from s\vine ? s flesh, 
and was circumcised in honor of his God. It 
is very probable that the first Bassianus was 



46 



" And I saw the beast, and {he kings 
of the earth, and their armies, gather- 
ed together to make war against him 
that sat on the horse, and against his 
army." This beast is Albinus; the 
kings of the earth are the governors and 
chiefs of Gaul and Spain, who aided 
Albinus. 

also circumcised. And if this rite had been 
performed on the first and third Bassianus, we 
may presume that, by the procurement of hii 
mother, it had been performed on the second 
Bassianus, who is Caracalla. Alexander Se- 
verus, another grandson of Julia Maesa, had a 
statue of Abraham in his Chapel. His mother, 
Julia Mamaea, is said to have been a Christian; 
and Heliogabalus, *t is affirmed, was desirous 
of uniting the rites of Christianity to the wor- 
ship of his God Elagabahis. I therefore pre- 
sume, that this Syrian family, of " kings from 
the rising of the sun," (ch. 16. 12.) were de* 
generated Jews, and Judaiziog Christians; 



47 



" And the beast was taken, and with 
him the false prophet." Some histori- 
ans write that Albinus, being mortally 
wounded, was brought to Severus, and 
expired in his presence. The false 
prophet, supposed to be the same with 
the two horned beast, may be the gov- 
ernor of Lyonese Gaul, whose name I 
have not discovered. 

" And the remnant were slain with the 
sword of him that sat on the horse, which 
sword proceeded out of his mouth." The 

and that Caracalla had been circumcised. But 
perhaps his nurse, or preceptor, had marked 
him on his thigh with the name of Jesus. The 
Pagans marked themselves with what they 
called stigmata, to distinguish to what divin- 
ity they were consecrated. In the plates of 
the work Le antique explique, we see figures 
of the Athletes Hetrusques, with names or in= 
scriptions passing down the thigh and leg. 



48 



battle of Lyons was fought on the 19th 
of February, 197 ; Caracalla was not 
nine years old until the 4th of April ; 
yet he is said to have urged his father 
to put to death all the children of their 
enemies ; and Sever us did so. (j ) 

" And all the fowls were filled with 
their flesh." Three hundred thousand 
men fought in the battle of Lyons \* the 

(j) When we compare the sanguinary and 
cruel contest'for the imperial throne, between 
Severus, Didius, Niger, and Albinus, with 
the calm and rational contest for the presiden- 
tial chair, between Jackson, Clay, Crawford, 
and Adams, truly we have cause to rejoice. 

* Gibbon, deeming the armies too large, ha9 
reduced them one half; but the estimate made 
by the writer of the Apocalypse, of the army 
of Severus at 144 thousand, confirms the testi- 
mony of those historians, who represent each 
of the armies as consisting of 150 thousand 
men. 



49 

victory was long doubtful ; but finaHy 
was complete; and consequently the 
slaughter immense. The bodies of the 
senators who fell fighting for Albinus, 
were sought for, subjected to indigni- 
ties, and left unburied. 

Such are the events for which the 
Christians of that age sung Hallelujah! 
And Caracalla, who attempted to mur- 
der his father ; who murdered his bro- 
ther in the arms of his mother; who 
put to death twenty thousand plersons 
for being his brother's friends ; who 
massacred the people of Alexandria dur= 
ing a festival; and whose cruelty no 
rank, sex, or age escaped— he is the 
Lamb of the Apocalypse ! 

The writer says, " These sayings are 
faithful and true, — the things which 
must shortly be done,— the time is at 

hand.'* It is therefore contrary to his 

5 



DO 



own words to look for the events pre- 
tended to have been foretold, in mod- 
ern times. 

This work is, in part, made up of 
passages from the prophets,* the talmud, 
the theology of the Rabbins, the pastor 
of Hernias, and the more ancient Apoc- 
alypses,! applied by the writer to the 
history of his own time. 

It remains to ascertain, who was the 
writer of this wonderful enigma, to solve 
which the wisdom of mankind has been 
challenged; and which has Remained 
unsolved during a period of 1625 years, 
although some among the ablest men 

* Between 80 & 90 verses of the Apocal yp§e 
are taken from the prophets. 

t There were Apocalypses of Peter, of Paul, 
of Adam, of Moses, of Eiias, of Esdras, of St 
Thomas, of St. Stephen, and one of St. John, 
different from that now extant 



who ever lived, * have been among the 
many who have given it the c most pro- 
found consideration. I am of opinion 
that, Ireneus, bishop of Lyons,f was th^ 

* As Sir Isaac Newton, and Grotius. 

t Ireneus wrote 5 books against the here - 
tics of his time ; in his first book, he wrote an 
account of the heresy of Tatian. See Rev. 9. 
1 . He says of the Basilideans, that they make 
light of things offered to idols, and partake o,f 
them without scruple. See Rev. 2. 20. He 
wrote against Saturninus,Cerdon, the Valenti- 
nians, Maicionites, Cainites, Carpocratiang, 
Marcosians,Sethians,and Ophites. He speaks 
of Mark, the chief of the Marcosiarts, as hav- 
ing come into Gaul, and made many converts 
there ; and he speaks of the disciples of Mark, 
as having corrupted m^ny women in the coun- 
try about the Rhone. 

In the epistle of the churches of Vienne and 
Lyons, attributed to Ireneus, written some- 
time after 177, and addressed to the churches 
of Ask, in referring to the execution of Pothi* 



witer of the Apocalypse. His person- 
al acquaintance with Niger, AJbinus, 
^everus,* Julia Domna, and with the 

m$> is this expression ; « For fce was indeed a 
genuine disciple of Christ, following the Lamb 
whithersoever he goes.- In the Revelation 
we read, « These are they which follow the 
Lainb whi'thersoever be goes." This use of a 
similar peculiar expression, indicates that both 
these productions are, probably, from the same 
pen. In the same epistle, are found these ex- 
pressions; !< He that is unjust let him be un^ 
just stiil l'' and, "He that is holy let him be 
liolystiH." See Rev. 22. 11. Ireneus says 
that a heavy punishment awaits those who add 
to, or take away from the scriptures. See Rev. 
22. 19. He also informs us that the Marco- 
sianssay, Jesus is Alpha and Omeo-a, 

* Severus governed Lyonese Gaul in 187; 
Niger at the same time commanded the Ro- 
man troops in Gaul, who were acting against 
Maternus; and Albinushad governed another 
province of that country; therefore 5everus > 



53 

history of the infancy of Caracalla, who 
was probably born as well as nursed at 
Lyons, particularly qualified Ireneus to 
write the Apocalypse. 

Ireneus was a Greek of Asia, and, in 
his youth, a disciple of Poly carp, bishop 
of Smyrna, one of the seven churches ; 
he went to Rome, and from thence to 
Lyons, where, on the death of Pothi- 
mus in 177, he was appointed bishop 
in his stead ; he wrote several works, 
and in one of them spoke of the Apoca- 
lypse. In a passage preserved by Eu« 
sebius, Ireneus says, " These things be* 
ing thus, and this number being in all 
the exact and ancient copies, and they 
who saw John attesting the same things, 
and reason teaching us that the number 
of the name of the beast, according to 

Niger, Albinus, and Maternus were well 
known to Ireneus. 

5* 



04 



the computation of the Greeks, is ex- 
pressed by the letters contained in it" 
And again he says, " We therefore will 
not run the hazard of affirming any- 
thing too positively of the name of An- 
tichrist ; for if his name were to have 
been openly declared at this time, it 
would have been mentioned by him who 
saw the Revelation ; for it was seen not 
long ago, but almost in our age, near 
the end of the reign of Domitian." In 
this passage Ireneus intimates that, if he 
thought proper, he could disclose the 
name which contains, by the Greek let- 
ters, the number 666. * 

It now appears that, although the 
Christian church has received The Rev- 
elation of St. John the divine as genuine, 
for more than sixteen centuries,* it is a 
pious forgery. 

* This book was received as canonical, by 



55 



This discovery may not be pleasing 
to those who desire to restore the ignor- 
ance and mental debasement of the four- 
teenth century ; but it should gratify 
the friends of truth, as well as the ad- 
vocates for the unbounded freedom of 
the human mind. It clearly appears, 
that priests have never possessed a holy 
spirit, by which they could distinguish 
truth from falsehood. Consequently, 
as saints, popes, and councils, knew not 
what to believe themselves, they had 
no right to prescribe a creed to others* 

Origen 230, Cyprian 248, Novatus, 251, Com- 
modian 270, Victorinus & Methodius 290, 
Arnobius & Lactantius 306, St. Athanasius 326, 
St. Epiphariius 368, St. Basil, Ampliilocus, & 
St. Ephrem the Syrian 370, St. Gregory Nys- 
son 371, St. Jerom 392, St. Augustine 395, Ru- 
finus and the council of Carthage 397, Sulpi- 
cius Severus 401, and Pope Innocent I. in 
402. 



56 

We have now discovered, that the pope 
is not the beast; that Rome is not the 
mystical Babylon ; and that neither the 
Mahometans, nor the Protestants, are 
the locusts of the Apocalypse ; all of 
which doctrines have been taught by 
our spiritual instructors, of divers sects. 

Let the clergy expunge from the ca- 
non of faith a forged book, written in 
the spirit of insatiable revenge, (k) Let 
not a difference of opinion in religion 
any longer excite discord, or cause di- 
vision among us. Let us regard with 
marked disapprobation, those who, with 
exclusive zeal, inculcate anti-social prin- 
ciples: For belief and unbelief are 
equally involuntary ; and as the one can 
deserve no censure, so the other can 
merit no applause. 

, (fc)Ch. 6.10. ch. 18.6. 



57 



Consult the histories of Crevier, Gibbon, Sf 
Herodian, the Universal history, and Lard- 
ner's works. 

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE. 

Chap. 1. 7. " Behold he cometh with 
multitudes." rm t&peim. Nephelon signifies 
clouds ; but nephos, a cloud, is sometimes used 
to express a multitude. The- writer alludes 
to the coming of Caracalla with a great army. 

Chap. 2. 20. Marcellina, a woman of the 
Carpoeratian sect, came to Rome in 160, and 
made many proselytes. She worshipped ima- 
ges of Jesus, Paul, Homer, and Pythagoras, 
and offered them incense. She may be " that 
woman Jezebel," if she ever dwelt at Thva- 
lira. 

Chap. 6. 8. " To kill with p^p*/*." I ap- 
prehend this writer has written romphaia for 
dart, or poniard, ch. 1. 16, ch. 2. 12. 16, ch. 
19. 15, 21 ; he has written ^x^p^ for sword, 
ch. 6. 4. The empire was not afflicted by war 
in the reign of Commodus; but the historian 
Dion, in enumerating the evils of that reign, 



has joined to the plague, assassinations, com- 
mitted all over the empire with poisoned darts 
or poniards faxm**. 

Chap* S. " Cast into the sea." Montanus, 
by the unanimous voice of the church, was 
separated from the faithful. 

Chap. 9. lh " The y have a king over them/ * 
Broughton says that the Encratites acknow- 

Iedged a power in the Devil, independent of 

God. 

Chap.U. i # « ^ woman clothed with the 
sun, and the moon under her feet." I expect 
the coins, or medals of the empress Julia, will 
explain this passage c The mopn was repre- 
sented on them. 

Chap. 16. The 2d verse relates to the pro- 
scription and extermination of the friends of 
Didius. 

In the revolution on the death of Commons, 
ch. 6. 14, " every mountain and the islands 
were removed out of their places." This sig- 
nifies the removal by Pertinax, of the officers 
of Commodusc But in the revolution, on the 



59 

death of Niger, ch. 16, 20, "every island fled 
away, and the mountains were not found." 
This signifies the banishment or death of the 
officers of Niger, 

Chap. 20. 4. « And I saw the souls of them 
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus." 
At Lyons in 177, those Christians who were 
Roman citizens, were beheaded ; the others 
were exposed to wild beasts. 



10S 



7* 



f 



